A recent historical study, published in the journal Theory and Society, seeks to explain one of the darkest and most enigmatic episodes of early modern Europe: the great witch hunt. Researchers have discovered that the expansion of persecutions between the 15th and 17th centuries was closely linked to the spread of ideas through the printing press and the commercial networks of the time. According to the study, this phenomenon was not only driven by popular superstitions or religious rivalries but by the dissemination of new demonological theories, facilitated by the arrival of printing technology.

The research team, consisting of Kerice Doten-Snitker, Steven Pfaff, and Yuan Hsiao, argues that the printing press played a crucial role in creating an environment conducive to the persecution of witches. According to the scholars, the appearance of the famous treatise “Malleus Maleficarum” in 1487—a manual for witch hunters—provided a theoretical justification for authorities and citizens, while also offering practical guidelines for conducting trials and executions.

Between 1450 and 1750, approximately 90,000 people were prosecuted for witchcraft in Europe, resulting in the execution of around 45,000. This explosion of trials, popularly known as the “witch craze,” has puzzled historians for years. The belief in witchcraft had existed since medieval times, but never before had there been such a rapid and widespread increase in persecutions, nor with the same brutality.

Witch trials in Central Europe, 1400–1679
Witch trials in Central Europe, 1400–1679. Credit: Kerice Doten-Snitker et al.

The study suggests that this surge was due to a process of ideational diffusion, where new demonological theories about witchcraft and the devil’s intervention began to circulate widely, thanks to printed treatises and the influence of commercial networks. The printing press, recently invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century, allowed theological ideas about witchcraft to reach a much wider audience, moving from ecclesiastical and theological circles to magistrates, judges, and local authorities responsible for the law.

The “Malleus Maleficarum”, a Catalyst of Terror

The “Malleus Maleficarum”, written by the inquisitor Heinrich Kramer and first published in 1487, is one of the key texts mentioned in the study. This book quickly became the reference manual for witch hunters, offering a combination of theological explanations and practical guidelines for prosecuting those suspected of practicing witchcraft.

The study highlights that the spread of the “Malleus Maleficarum” and other similar texts coincided with an increase in witch trials in European cities. The data collected shows that cities closest to the printing centers of these texts were the first to adopt persecution, and the practice then spread to other localities, influenced by commercial networks and connections between cities.

Through the analysis of 553 cities in Central Europe between the years 1400 and 1679, the research team found that the adoption of witch trials intensified in those cities with greater access to printed demonological texts and that were better connected through trade routes. These cities, many of them in the Holy Roman Empire, acted as hubs for the spread of ideas and practices related to the witch hunt.

A copy of the Malleus maleficarum
A copy of the Malleus maleficarum. Credit: Jakob Sprenger / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons

The process of adopting these trials was not only rapid but interdependent: as a nearby city began conducting trials, other neighboring localities, exposed to the same texts and contacts, followed suit. This is what the researchers call percolation, a gradual process of ideological contagion that led the persecution to spread across Europe.

Although the study focuses on the role of ideational diffusion, the authors also point out that other factors, such as religious tensions between Catholics and Protestants and economic crises stemming from poor harvests or famines, contributed to creating a favorable environment for the persecutions. However, not all cities followed the same path. More commercial centers, such as the members of the Hanseatic League, tended to stay out of the witch hunts, partly due to the strength of their governance structures.

The authors conclude that although climatic factors and religious conflicts played a role in the witch hunts, the real spark that ignited the rise of these persecutions was the spread of new demonological ideas, facilitated by the printing press. These ideas redefined witchcraft as a satanic conspiracy that had to be eradicated through trials and executions.

The study suggests that this phenomenon is a clear example of how ideology can drive massive social changes when combined with new communication technologies, such as the printing press. In this sense, the witch hunt was not only a manifestation of medieval superstitions but also a consequence of the growing book culture and the spread of ideas in early modern Europe.


SOURCES

Doten-Snitker, K., Pfaff, S. & Hsiao, Y. Ideational diffusion and the great witch hunt in Central Europe. Theor Soc (2024). doi.org/10.1007/s11186-024-09576-1


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